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What is Medical Tourism?

Simply stating, Medical Tourism is the process of traveling abroad to receive superior medical, dental and cosmetic care by highly skilled surgeons at some of the most modern and state-of-the-art medical facilities in the world…all at a fraction of the price in the US, UK and Canada.

There are many ways to define Medical Tourism, which is also known as Medical Travel, Health Tourism, Health Travel, Medical Value Travel, Healthcare Abroad, Medical Overseas, Overseas Medical, Surgery Overseas and even Medical Outsourcing and Offshore Medical. But for millions of patients in the US, it is the only way to get the needed or desired medical treatment, without wiping out their entire life-savings.

Medical Tourism gives the global medical tourist the opportunity to get the best quality of medical surgery, cosmetic plastic surgery and dental surgery at significantly lower costs. While the low costs are the primary motivation to travel abroad, some medical tourists seek medical care overseas because of immediate availability of procedures and sometimes the unavailability of certain procedures.

Many countries offer discount medical tourism world wide. However, some of the best destinations for international medical tourism include India, Thailand, Singapore and Mexico. Central and South American countries like Costa Rica, Panama, Brazil and Argentina are also picking up fast as they not only have top quality medical expertise to offer but also have great travel destinations where one can enjoy a medical vacation.

Finally, some may call medical tourism a misnomer. Surely, vacationing is not the primary purpose of medical tourism, but while the medical tourists are recuperating, they usually take advantage of the opportunity to inexpensively vacation in the destination country.

History – How medical tourism came into being?

As the prices of receiving good healthcare soar, the insurance coverage becomes poor and the wait lists become longer, one is inclined to explore other avenues. If the same (and sometimes even better) quality of healthcare is available within reach then why not go for it? Hence, the birth of Medical Tourism.

Medical tourism is not a new concept. It has been practiced by wealthy Europeans and Asians for decades when they would travel within their continent and sometimes even to the US to seek health related treatments.

Today, Medical Tourism is no more a “dirty word” as was labeled once by the media. In the US, Health travel is quickly gaining recognition. This is proven by the fact that hordes of Americans (nearly half a million) visit Asia, Mexico and South America each year to seek high quality yet cheap medical treatment, combined with exotic vacations in the destination country.

Who should be interested in medical tourism?

As long as you are healthy enough to travel, you stand to benefit from medical tourism’s offerings. While anyone is a prospective patient, most of our customers fall into one of the following three categories:

Elective surgery
A large number of medical tourists seek out elective procedures such as cosmetic, plastic, dental and wellness treatments that are not covered by insurance plans.

Underinsured
As insurers cut back on their coverage and insurance costs skyrocket, more and more individuals find themselves ‘underinsured’ the current figure rising to about 16 million Americans. High deductibles, co-payments, out-of-pocket expenses, wait-lists and limited physician choices force many patients to seek out alternative treatments. Others find that the care they need is not covered under their catastrophic insurance plans.

Uninsured
16% of the US population i.e. about 45 million Americans are uninsured. These individuals, many of which are self-employed, frequently find themselves dipping into their hard-earned savings to finance their medical care. Medical illness can be a financial nightmare leading to bankruptcy. According to a Harvard study, half of personal bankruptcies are related to medical expenses. Thus, medical tourism is an increasingly popular solution among our uninsured population.

What’s in it for me?

Savings
You are not well and the treatment is necessary. Your insurance is not going to cover much and you will have to pay out of your savings. You know that the surgery will leave you with nothing to pay for your home loan or your car loan or even your utility bills and that you will have to start everything over again. Would you not rather go to another country where you can get the same high-quality care for a fraction of the cost?The primary motivation behind Medical Travel is undoubtedly savings. And not just savings – incredible savings, let us say! Compare a $7,000 hip resurfacing in India with a $48,000 one in the US. That’s more than 80% savings even after you have paid for your travel, stay and vacation.

Quality
Everybody raves about the low cost of medical travel but does that mean that quality is compromised? NO! At least, not at Healthbase. We only include those hospitals and medical centers in our network which meet the tough standards like those specified by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the Joint Commission International (JCI) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). So, rest assured that the services that you will get will meet or exceed US standards.To further ensure exceptional service, we have a rigorous screening and selection process through on-site visits and extensive research. We periodically send experts to our partner hospital sites to re-evaluate their service standards and facilities. Furthermore, we monitor the quality of our providers through patient feedback and reports by international healthcare agencies. At Healthbase, we make every effort to make sure that you receive the best in health and the most in savings.

Immediate Service
When your health is at stake, wait-lists are not an option. Our hospital partners will work with your schedule and timeframe to ensure quick access to care. Through Healthbase’s sophisticated online quote system, your medical records will be made accessible to the hospitals of your choice instantly and hence will be able to get your medical quote within two business days in most cases.

Convenience
As the industry’s most sophisticated and comprehensive web portal, consumers can arrange medical care from start to finish. Our one-stop service offerings are just one of the ways we strive to provide world-class care.

Travel Opportunities
While the primary motivation for most customers is affordable surgery, the opportunity to visit exotic destinations is an additional draw for some of our customers. Some medical tourists spend a few days sightseeing before their procedure while others enjoy the same while recuperating.

I get all these benefits but how are the hospitals able to provide high quality at such low rates? Is it a marketing gimmick?

No, it is not a marketing gimmick and there are no fine print catches. Our hospitals can really provide high quality at low rates. Fees in the U.S. are driven by labor overhead, administrative expenses, and insurance contracts. Over 71 percent of hospital costs are labor related according to a recent World Health Organization report which helps to explain some of the cost advantages for countries with low labor costs. Healthbase eliminates these burdens by connecting patients directly to surgeons, allowing us to offer premier services at prices unavailable in the U.S. It is truly a win-win situation for everybody.

The process of Medical Tourism at Healthbase

Having read enough about the low cost high quality phenomenon of medical care, we are sure you now want to board that plane to get your treatment. Allow us to assist you in your journey to recovery with our unique and most sophisticated medical tourism process. The following diagram gives an overview of how our sophisticated yet easy system works.

The guide to the step by step procedure of Healthbase Medical Tourism follows:

Become a registered Healthbase member
Register for FREE to create a new account or use an existing account to login to enjoy a whole host of services and resources.

Research the medical procedures
Review the medical procedures of your interest from amongst 200+ procedures available. You may also visit our Med Library or read our weblog-1 | weblog-2 to update yourself with the latest and the greatest in the medical field.

Review and select a hospital from the network of partner hospitals
After selecting a procedure of your interest, you may review the hospitals offering that procedure and choose a hospital that you like. To assist you with the selection of the hospital, we give you detailed profiles of our partner hospitals such as the hospital capacity, the equipments being used, room facilities, and much more. Furthermore, a complete profile of the doctors/surgeons employed with those hospitals is also available to make you confident about the medical team that will be in charge of your treatment.

Upload your medical records
In order to assist you with the medical procedures, the surgeons will need to look at your medical records. Update your account with your medical records.

Request your free quote
We have worked tremendously with our partner hospitals to get you the best deal possible for your treatment. At our website, you may request for your free quote for treatment at the hospital of your choice for your desired travel dates.

Correspond with the hospital and appointed surgeons
Once you have reviewed the quote sent by the hospital, we encourage you to correspond with the medical team that will be responsible to cure you and get the answers to your questions. We will facilitate this communication between you and your surgeons.

Request and review travel and accommodation quotes
When you are ready to go, you may request travel and accommodation quotes from our travel and hotel partners respectively. You can book your and your companions tickets, acquire your passports/visas, buy travel insurance, and review travel/packing tips using our online resources.

Apply for medical/dental loan
We understand that your treatment is necessary but you may be unable to pay for it up front. Therefore, we have collaborated with loan processing companies where you can apply for medical and dental loans.

Arrive at your destination
Upon your arrival at your destination country you will be received at the airport and will have an assistant till you reach the hotel or the hospital and you are checked in.

Go for pre-treatment consultation
Our assistant will take you to the hospital for your pre-treatment consultation where you will be examined by the appointed medical team and will get a chance to clarify any doubts you may have.

Undergo your treatment/surgery
Once you have checked into the hospital for your treatment/surgery, you will be treated by the best experienced surgeons.

Recuperate after your treatment and return back home
After your surgeon has released you from the hospital, you will be taken back to your hotel. You may also celebrate your successful treatment with a vacation while you are recuperating. Once all the required post-treatment consultations are over and the surgeon is satisfied with your condition, you may return back home.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Begin your journey by logging in
now to explore the multitude of medical tourism options available to you, to view the cost comparison of over 200 procedures at various hospitals in different countries and to receive your free personalized cost estimate. It’s as easy as 1-2-3…fast, simple and FREE!!

Why Healthbase?

Life is precious and mistakes can cost you dearly. You are traveling halfway across the world to go under the knife of someone you hardly know. So wouldn’t you like to take a partner along who is with you at every single step all the way – from start to finish and beyond?

Yes, we are talking about us. When you choose to go with us, you will find us with you everywhere. At Healthbase, your wellness means everything to us. We are not amongst those medical tourism companies that give you a plethora of advice but a paucity of assistance. At Healthbase, you will receive the best of advice and the best of assistance. Here are a few more reasons why we stand out amidst competition and why we are the trusted provider-of-choice for medical tourists worldwide:

Empower yourself with information anywhere, anytime
We have the industry’s most sophisticated and comprehensive automated web portal to guarantee quick, effective and efficient communication of all information related to the medical tourism process.

Communication is the key to everything
We allow you to correspond with your assigned surgeons as and when required.

Our boasts are not empty
We are medical tourism experts with first-hand industry experience and satisfied clients.

Offer so much to choose from
We offer over 15 international hospital providers in 10 cities in 4 countries to meet your medical travel needs. And we are continually expanding our network so you have multiple choices to select from.

Quality is our hallmark of success
We have a rigorous screening and selection process through on-site visits and extensive research. We periodically send experts to our partner hospital sites to re-evaluate their service standards and facilities.

Need we say again that quality is our hallmark of success?
We have room for only leading healthcare institutions that are either JCI or JCAHO or ISO certified. They are equipped with the most modern, state-of-the-art medical equipments and technology and employ elite physicians educated and trained in the US/UK.

Understanding your needs at every step
We partner with travel agencies to arrange your travel, with hotels to manage your accommodation, and medical and dental loan processing companies to support you financially.

Always round the corner
We are accessible via our Toll-Free telephone number (1-888-MY1-HLTH or 1-888-691-4584) to answer your questions at your convenience. Should you require assistance via email then simply drop in a line (customers.hb@healthbase.com).

Corporate Medical Tourism

To all Small-business owners, Corporations, Self-insured employers, Insurers, Brokers: Are you looking to expand medical choices for consumers while saving thousands of dollars on each case? Do you want to distinguish your company from the competition? We have some excellent corporate plans (employer plans) that will help you reduce costs while maintaining high standards of care. Click here to know how.